MERIDEN — Necks craned and eyes widened as students walked through the lofty new glass entranceway at Platt High School Monday. Not only was it the first day of school, but the first day without clamoring construction crews and blocked hallways after four years of renovations.
“A lot of them just stopped and looked around because this wasn’t here last year. Walls that were up when they left were taken down and the whole space is open now,” Platt Principal Robert Montemurro said. “... a lot of amazed looks on their faces.”
The newly renovated school was one highlight on Monday, said Superintendent of Schools Mark Benigni.
“The consistency of the leadership teams makes it smoother every year,” Benigni said, while visiting John Barry School. “The biggest issue was the traffic because we have a lot of parents coming on the first day. But the facilities are in good shape and the entire faculty and the students are glad to be back.” Last year, construction on the $97.7 million Platt renovation project was still under way when students returned, forcing them to use a temporary entrance at the back of the building. The main entrance, administrative offices, auditorium and gym were under construction and students had to maneuver through detours.
Senior class president Carson Coon, 17, recalled the daily confusion of trying to get to class last year.
“It’s weird actually knowing exactly where you are going to go because you are used to having detours no matter where you went,” Coon said. “One day you’d walk down a hallway to get to your class and the next day you’d go and there’s orange cones and guys in vests working so you’d have to find another way.”
As the bell rang between first and second period, students poured into the wide, light-bathed hallways, cascading down the tiered stairs in one of the school’s main hallways.
Big, bright, and beautiful was how senior Gillian Galotti, 16, described the building.
“It’s not hectic anymore,” Galotti said. “I know where everything is already.”
Elsewhere in the district, younger children waved goodbye to parents who watched them board the bus, or walked them into their new classrooms. Kindergarten parents had the most difficult time.
“There were more parents crying than kids,” said John Barry Principal Dan Crispino.
Agampreet Dhot, 5, was nervously holding on to her father Aman Dhot as they walked to her kindergarten class at Israel Putnam School. Earlier in the morning, Agampreet was looking forward to going to school, her father said. But as she got closer to the commotion of parents, the buses and noisy students in front of the school, she clung tighter to dad. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
About 19,300 undergraduate and graduate students will start classes Monday in Storrs and 12,400 are moving into the dormitories.
The school was unable to complete scheduled road construction this summer, leaving one entrance to campus closed and several roads with altered or one-way traffic patterns.
The school says the construction is part of a multi-year project necessary to replace aging pipes and other underground infrastructure.
Other motorists are being asked to avoid the area.
Converted Manchester Buildings Ready For New School Year
Construction of a new fifth- and sixth-grade school will finish in time for the start of classes next week, but above the original cost estimate, officials said.
Taxpayers need not fear, however, because the overall school modernization plan they approved in 2014 will cost less than initial calculations, town officials said.
Two years ago, the architect for the fifth- and sixth-grade school project told the board of education that the conversion of the long-shuttered Cheney Building and its adjacent boiler building, along with an expansion of Bennet Academy, would cost about $17.9 million. The actual cost will be about $19.9 million, Facilities Project Manager Christopher Till said Monday. After state reimbursement, town taxpayers were to be responsible for about $7 million of the Cheney/Bennet costs, according to initial estimates. That figure is now about $7.5 million, Till said.
Work On Last Leg Of Glastonbury Roundabout To Begin This Week
Work on the last spoke of a new roundabout — Hebron Avenue to Main Street — will begin later this week. The work will lead to the closure of Hebron Avenue from Main Street to New London Turnpike, though the highly commercial area will be open to local traffic.
Workers are planning on paving the eastern leg of Hebron Avenue from the roundabout to Concord Street this week and when that is completed three of the four spokes will be open to traffic. However, the southbound lanes of New London Turnpike to the south of the roundabout will be closed as workers complete the second half of the interior circle of the roundabout.
"When it's all said and complete, this will really look nice and be a nice addition to the Town Center," Town Manager Richard J. Johnson said. "This is the last leg and we plan to be substantially completed with traffic flowing through there by the end of September."
The new Hebron Avenue closure will remain in place for a few weeks. Crosswalks and brick pavers along with granite curbing has been installed along both the New London Turnpike north and Hebron Avenue east portion of the roundabout. Workers are installing granite curbing along the northbound lanes of New London Turnpike to the south of the roundabout.
But General Manager Scott Shanley said the added costs will be offset by savings in the overall $84 million modernization project, which includes the fifth- and sixth-grade school combining Bennet Academy with the Cheney buildings. The overall plan also includes "like-new" renovations and additions to Waddell and Verplanck elementary schools and the closings of Robertson and Washington elementary schools.
For this school year, Waddell students will attend classes in the Cheney buildings while work at their school is completed in time for the 2018-19 school year. Waddell teachers have been in the new buildings for several days setting up their classrooms, Till said. In 2018-19, all fifth-graders will attend the Cheney/Bennet school. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUEWork On Last Leg Of Glastonbury Roundabout To Begin This Week
Work on the last spoke of a new roundabout — Hebron Avenue to Main Street — will begin later this week. The work will lead to the closure of Hebron Avenue from Main Street to New London Turnpike, though the highly commercial area will be open to local traffic.
Workers are planning on paving the eastern leg of Hebron Avenue from the roundabout to Concord Street this week and when that is completed three of the four spokes will be open to traffic. However, the southbound lanes of New London Turnpike to the south of the roundabout will be closed as workers complete the second half of the interior circle of the roundabout.
"When it's all said and complete, this will really look nice and be a nice addition to the Town Center," Town Manager Richard J. Johnson said. "This is the last leg and we plan to be substantially completed with traffic flowing through there by the end of September."
The new Hebron Avenue closure will remain in place for a few weeks. Crosswalks and brick pavers along with granite curbing has been installed along both the New London Turnpike north and Hebron Avenue east portion of the roundabout. Workers are installing granite curbing along the northbound lanes of New London Turnpike to the south of the roundabout.
"We want to stress that all accesses to businesses will remain open during construction," Town Engineer and Director of Physical Service Daniel A. Pennington said. "Access will remain from Main Street. Everything is coming together and it will really look aesthetically pleasing once it's done." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
NEW HAVEN >> During a ceremony Monday unveiling renderings and new signs for the new Q-House site, Alder Jeanette Morrison, D-22, explained how the local institution has been a haven for African Americans in the community since its inception.
When it was first built in the early 1920s, Morrison said it helped serve African Americans migrating from the South.
“(They) needed to understand the area in which they were in and needing a safe place for their children, and that’s what the Q-House did in 1924,” Morrison said.
Renderings unveiled Monday show the new Q-House will be situated at Dixwell Avenue and Foote Street.
As the local alder, Morrison has led the charge for the new Q-House, which has received more than $15 million in state funds since 2014. The new facility will provide services for people aged, “1 to 100-plus,” Morrison said.
“The concerned citizens and other groups have worked tirelessly since the day doors closed of the former Q-House building,” Morrison said. “Although we were really sad, it’s kind of a blessing in disguise, because we knocked down a 20,000-square-foot building and now we’re going to build a 54,000-square-foot building.”
The previous Q-House, formally the Dixwell Community House, which closed in 2003, was demolished in January and was technically the second Q-House, Morrison said. The new Q-House will house not only a community center for youth, but a senior center, the Stetson Branch Library and offices from the Hill Health Center.
“I don’t think we’re going to need a fourth, though. I think this is going to be about it,” Morrison said.
The facility is being designed by New Haven-based Kenneth Boroson Architects. City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said the project will go out to bid in the fall. There will likely be more on-site work next spring, Zinn said. He said the previous Q-House demolition was completed on budget.
Mayor Toni Harp so prioritized the project that Morrison said she met with her shortly after Harp became mayor.
“I’m excited by the prospect of a new Q-House on this site,” Harp said, calling it, “a focal point of wishful thinking and eager anticipation for the past 12 years or more.”
Facilities like the Q-House are valuable because they give youths a chance to harness their “creative and productive energy” and help them further develop, Harp said.
“Prior to that on this site, vivid, lifelong memories were made during the programs, events and daily activities that made the Dixwell Q-House a cornerstone of this community,” Harp said.
City Librarian Martha Brogan said the new facility’s lower level will be devoted to young residents and will include interactive elements. The second level will have community spaces, classrooms and a studio.
Curlena McDonald served as co-chairwoman of the Q-House building committee, along with Morrison. She thanked the citizens who helped push for the project’s development. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
With No Federal Infrastructure Spending Plan, Construction Stocks Drop
Construction stocks are losing money as President Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure spending plans could be pushed back to 2018. Although Trump promised to get the money early is his first year as president, he has now said that he will try to get a bill through Congress at the end of this year, but Bloomberg Markets reported that 2018 is looking more likely.
So far, both Fluor Corp. and Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. (CBI) have seen cost overruns on some larger projects.
“Clearly, we had a pop in all these names with the election,” said Brent Thielman, a construction industry analyst with D.A. Davidson & Co. “As investors are digesting that this is going to take more time — if it happens at all — we're sort of back to the reality of the market.”
According to economic advisor Gary Cohn, the Trump Administration would like for Congress to approve an infrastructure plan this year, but it must first prioritize the nation's debt ceiling and an unwritten tax bill.
Half of Fluor's money comes from energy, chemicals and mining endeavors. In August, the company took a $124 million writedown after $30 million charges in Q1 and $265 million in 2016 due to problems with its gas-fired power plants and a petrochemical facility, Bloomberg Markets reported. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
When it was first built in the early 1920s, Morrison said it helped serve African Americans migrating from the South.
“(They) needed to understand the area in which they were in and needing a safe place for their children, and that’s what the Q-House did in 1924,” Morrison said.
Renderings unveiled Monday show the new Q-House will be situated at Dixwell Avenue and Foote Street.
As the local alder, Morrison has led the charge for the new Q-House, which has received more than $15 million in state funds since 2014. The new facility will provide services for people aged, “1 to 100-plus,” Morrison said.
“The concerned citizens and other groups have worked tirelessly since the day doors closed of the former Q-House building,” Morrison said. “Although we were really sad, it’s kind of a blessing in disguise, because we knocked down a 20,000-square-foot building and now we’re going to build a 54,000-square-foot building.”
The previous Q-House, formally the Dixwell Community House, which closed in 2003, was demolished in January and was technically the second Q-House, Morrison said. The new Q-House will house not only a community center for youth, but a senior center, the Stetson Branch Library and offices from the Hill Health Center.
“I don’t think we’re going to need a fourth, though. I think this is going to be about it,” Morrison said.
The facility is being designed by New Haven-based Kenneth Boroson Architects. City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said the project will go out to bid in the fall. There will likely be more on-site work next spring, Zinn said. He said the previous Q-House demolition was completed on budget.
Mayor Toni Harp so prioritized the project that Morrison said she met with her shortly after Harp became mayor.
“I’m excited by the prospect of a new Q-House on this site,” Harp said, calling it, “a focal point of wishful thinking and eager anticipation for the past 12 years or more.”
Facilities like the Q-House are valuable because they give youths a chance to harness their “creative and productive energy” and help them further develop, Harp said.
“Prior to that on this site, vivid, lifelong memories were made during the programs, events and daily activities that made the Dixwell Q-House a cornerstone of this community,” Harp said.
City Librarian Martha Brogan said the new facility’s lower level will be devoted to young residents and will include interactive elements. The second level will have community spaces, classrooms and a studio.
Curlena McDonald served as co-chairwoman of the Q-House building committee, along with Morrison. She thanked the citizens who helped push for the project’s development. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
With No Federal Infrastructure Spending Plan, Construction Stocks Drop
Construction stocks are losing money as President Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure spending plans could be pushed back to 2018. Although Trump promised to get the money early is his first year as president, he has now said that he will try to get a bill through Congress at the end of this year, but Bloomberg Markets reported that 2018 is looking more likely.
So far, both Fluor Corp. and Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. (CBI) have seen cost overruns on some larger projects.
“Clearly, we had a pop in all these names with the election,” said Brent Thielman, a construction industry analyst with D.A. Davidson & Co. “As investors are digesting that this is going to take more time — if it happens at all — we're sort of back to the reality of the market.”
According to economic advisor Gary Cohn, the Trump Administration would like for Congress to approve an infrastructure plan this year, but it must first prioritize the nation's debt ceiling and an unwritten tax bill.
The country's 18 largest engineering and construction companies all saw stock increases immediately following President Trump's win last November. Between Nov. 8 and the end of 2016, Fluor's stock grew by 18 percent, and CBI's by 13 percent. But ever since January, both companies have seen losses, with Fluor dropping by 28 percent and CBI by 65 percent, Bloomberg Markets reported.
In 2014, both Fluor and CBI signed fixed-priced contracts for electricity, petrochemical and natural gas processing plants, but both companies have learned that the payments from these projects are falling short thanks to equipment and worker issues and inaccurate estimates.Half of Fluor's money comes from energy, chemicals and mining endeavors. In August, the company took a $124 million writedown after $30 million charges in Q1 and $265 million in 2016 due to problems with its gas-fired power plants and a petrochemical facility, Bloomberg Markets reported. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE